Retired Prof. Larry Waggoner Honored for Contributions to Trusts and Estates Field

By Lori AthertonMarch 7, 2014

Lawrence Waggoner, '63, the Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law Emeritus, is the recipient of the Richard V. Wellman Award for outstanding contributions to uniform laws in the field of trusts and estates. The award was presented at a special dinner at the University Club of Chicago by the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts, a joint commission comprised of members from the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), the American Bar Association, and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Prof. Waggoner said the award is especially gratifying to him, "because Dick was my teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend." Wellman, '49, taught at the Law School from 1954 to 1973.

Prof. Waggoner is a leading figure in law reform with both the ULC and the American Law Institute (ALI) in the fields of wills, trusts, and estates. His ULC and ALI law-reform proposals have been adopted by the courts and legislatures in many American states, including Michigan. He was the director of research and the chief reporter for the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts, as well as the principal drafter of the 1990s and 2008 revisions to the Uniform Probate Code.

In addition, he served as the reporter for the three-volume Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers, which he completed in 2013. To the best of his knowledge, Prof. Waggoner said he is the only individual to have served as a reporter for both a major uniform code and a major restatement.

He retired from the Law School in 2012 after teaching here for 38 years.